The Luberon has plenty of hilltop villages---Gordes, Menebres, Lacoste and so on. They look a bit like the whitewashed multi-tiered of villages that nestle on the Kyklades, except of course they're the colour of sun-drenched sand rather than blanched white.
Their seemingly haphazard layout, closely following the contours of the hills on which they stand, apparently used to serve a defensive purpose: the entire village or town would be constructed like a fortress, with successive rows of houses nestling one behind though slightly higher than the other, sometimes at obtuse angles, with important public buildings at the very top, and centre, of the village. Every house would serve a role, not unlike that of a defensive wall, within the entirety of the defence system. Quite a thought, no? It would hard to find a more immediate, physical embodiment of the concept of Total Defence.
Their seemingly haphazard layout, closely following the contours of the hills on which they stand, apparently used to serve a defensive purpose: the entire village or town would be constructed like a fortress, with successive rows of houses nestling one behind though slightly higher than the other, sometimes at obtuse angles, with important public buildings at the very top, and centre, of the village. Every house would serve a role, not unlike that of a defensive wall, within the entirety of the defence system. Quite a thought, no? It would hard to find a more immediate, physical embodiment of the concept of Total Defence.
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